The Mercosur (MERCOSUR) recently held a summit in Brazil and has made progress in terms of expansion and economy. In the opinion of analysts, the convening of this summit is conducive to strengthening the cohesion and influence of MERCOSUR, but the organization still faces some challenges in the future.
On December 7, local time, MERCOSUR held the 63rd summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prior to the summit, MERCOSUR also held social meetings, council meetings, etc. As a result of consultations between the parties at the meeting, MERCOSUR has made progress in many areas.
In terms of organizational development, Bolivia was officially admitted as a member of MERCOSUR. Prior to this, MERCOSUR had only four full member states: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. In addition, MERCOSUR has associated countries such as Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador.
Brazil's Lula of the MERCOSUR presidency said Bolivia's accession was "the starting point for MERCOSUR's tomorrow" and that MERCOSUR would become stronger and more financially available to support regional integration.
On the economic front, Mercosur and Singapore formally signed a freedom** agreement. Under the agreement, Singapore will exempt all products imported from Mercosur from customs duties, while Mercosur will impose tariffs on all products8% of imports from Singapore are exempt from customs duties, and the tariff exemption will be phased in over 15 years.
On the diplomatic front, Brazil, Argentina and other countries jointly called on Venezuela and Guyana to resolve their disputes peacefully and refrain from unilateral actions. "If there's one thing we don't want in South America, it's war," Lula said. Lula also said that Brazil is willing to host an international conference to mediate the dispute between Venezuela and Guyana.
A number of ** analysts pointed out that the results achieved by Mercosur at the summit showed that the organization is regaining its cohesion and influence. Behind this, Brazil's role is crucial.
In 1991, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay** signed the Treaty of Asunción in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, announcing the establishment of Mercosur, an organization for the Latin American regional integration organization. In January 1995, Mercosur was officially launched. Mercosur is an important economic integration organization in Latin America and the world's first common market composed entirely of developing countries.
After the establishment of MERCOSUR, economic cooperation among member countries was promoted to a certain extent. However, as member states disagree on tariff policies, the domestic political situation in some member states has changed, and Mercosur has suffered some setbacks in recent years, and voices have emerged questioning whether the organization can still function normally. At the same time, the integration process of the entire Latin American region has stalled due to US intervention and the internal development of Latin American countries.
Since taking office in January, Lula has been committed to promoting Latin American integration. Brazil under Lula has restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela at the ambassadorial level on the one hand, and strengthened cooperation with Argentina on the other. In January of this year, Brazil officially returned to CELAC. Subsequently, Argentina and Brazil announced their return to the Union of South American Nations. In May, a meeting of the leaders of South American countries was held in Brazil. In July, the 62nd MERCOSUR Summit was held in Argentina.
Bolivia applied for full mercosur membership back in 2015, but Brazil has not agreed. In November this year, the Brazilian Congress completed the protocol ratifying Bolivia's membership in MERCOSUR, clearing the way for Bolivia to become a regular. Mercosur and Singapore have reached a free trade agreement, which is also the first free trade agreement reached by MERCOSUR with another country in 12 years.
Many observers in Latin America have pointed out that the inclusion of Bolivia as a member state or the signing of a free trade agreement with Singapore shows that MERCOSUR still has vitality and vitality and can overcome difficulties to continue the integration process. In addition, the leaders of MERCOSUR discussed issues such as strengthening local currency settlements, with the aim of getting rid of dependence on the US dollar and strengthening the economic independence of the organization.
However, some analysts believe that Mercosur still has some problems that have not been resolved at this summit, and the organization still faces challenges in the future.
The free trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU is the biggest problem for Mercosur at present. The two sides have been negotiating a free trade agreement since 1999, and reached an agreement in 2019 and entered the text review stage. But in March this year, the EU put forward additional conditions, requiring products exported from Mercosur to meet EU environmental protection requirements or face sanctions. This caused discontent in MERCOSUR.
Lula is clearly opposed to the EU's unilateral increase in conditions for the FTA, but he has pledged to complete negotiations on a free trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU in the second half of this year. To this end, Lula took the opportunity of his visit to meet with France's Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before the Mercosur summit. However, Macron was clearly opposed to the signing of a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur, while Lula said that France was a "protectionist country".
So far, MERCOSUR and the EU have expressed their willingness to continue negotiations on the FTA. The EU needs resources such as minerals from MERCOSUR countries, and Mercosur wants access to the EU market, but differences over agriculture and the environment mean that negotiations are likely not easy.
In addition, the uncertainty about the direction of Argentina's new policy has added uncertainty to the outlook for MERCOSUR. Milley has previously criticized Mercosur and that there may be adjustments to its economy and policies after taking office.
In the opinion of analysts, the so-called "striking iron still needs its own strength", and in the future, MERCOSUR should first make efforts to strengthen internal cooperation. Before Bolivia became a full member, MERCOSUR accounted for only 10 per cent of the total number of member states, which led to calls for greater cooperation among member states. Only when member countries are more economically connected can the entire organization be more united and exert greater influence at the regional and global levels.